Races
The races of Maesia can be categorized into three major groups - Elder, Common, and Viral races. Elder races are the oldest surviving races on the face of the planet, and lived out the prime of their existence as species several thousand years ago, before they began a massive power struggle known now as the Elder Wars. This infighting eventually led to the destruction of all the Elder races had achieved in terms of technology, magic research, and societal standards. In the wake of the ruin they left, and with their numbers so critically dimished, it paved the way for a massive population explosion of humanity and the other common races. Common races consist largely of humans and races that are largely human in physiology (nel'que, windwalkers), but there are various races of more "exotic" appearances that also took advantage of the empty niche left by the elder races. Many of these races originated in places not habitable by humans or the elder races under normal circumstances, such as the drakaal from the high Keletan mountains, or the darklings, which literally had not been seen at all until the elder races vanished. In more unusual places, races surfaced that were even less humanoid in appearance, such as the feral verku and the aquatic sa'ela. Through it all, humans are the primarily dominant race of the planet, with the non-humans either peacefully coexisting or isolating themselves entirely from human society and culture. Over time, the humans began to diversify based on their environment, and it wasn't very long until the viral races surfaced. Only humans could be infected, as the means of transfer was through fluid contact (namely blood), and any non-human's blood actually proved a toxin to the virals. The more civil and rational viral race of vampires actually keep to themselves, keeping their existance debatable at best among all but small outlying settlements marked as their hunting grounds. Werewolves, however, are known and feared across Maesia for their vicious and unrelenting natures and highly infectious bites. Highly irrational countermeasures against viral outbreaks were begun approximately two decades ago, ending in the irreversible near-eradication of three different races bearing a genetic similarity to werewolves, despite them having shown no sign of viral or even feral tendencies towards humans. Elder Races : Main article: Elder Races Elder races are the oldest surviving races to walk the face of Maesia. They hit their prime several thousand years ago, and the majority of their civilization was destroyed in their petty power struggles. Out of the individuals that exist today, almost none remember the Old Ways, and their grand Cities. *The Dariaks *The Ohndaku *The Coboros *The Teiha *The Ruen (now extinct) Common Races : Main article: Common Races Common races can be sub-categorized into three main groups - human, humanoid, and non-humanoid. The "human" group consists of races with a very close genetic structure, as its name suggests they all look like humans. Humanoids still maintain a basic human appearance, give or take key features. Non-humanoid are those that do not resemble humanity at all. Human *Human *Nel'que *Windwalker Humanoid *Drakaal *Darkling Non-humanoid *Verku *Nybis *Sa'ela Viral Races : Main article: Viral Races The viral races emerged shortly after the population boom and biodiversity of humanity. No one is entirely sure where they came from - perhaps a natural occurence, perhaps dark magics or some kind of scientific sabotage from Elder race remnants. Either way, they continue to plague outlying human settlements, whereas urbanized areas deny the magnitude of their population, and thusly do nothing to stop any spread of infection. *Vampires *Werewolves Extinct Races : Main article: Extinct Races There are many races that no longer exist on Maesia, for a variety of reasons. Either due to failed ecological adaptation, being outed by more competitive races, being killed in acts of genocide or war, or just plain vanishing altogether without an explanation, many races no longer grace the lands of Maesia. *Kirrae/Jenaths/Feliks *Machero *The Ruen *Osren *Terrawulf *The Aurel